Hi friends!
I hope you are well. I am doing great, just basking in the summer sun and enjoying the peace that comes with being content with where I am, and where I'm headed. Today, I thought I would share my thoughts on something a little different, a song. Kimberly Perry, formerly of The Band Perry, has released a new song titled, "If I Die Young, Part 2", and it is a delight. See the video below.
But first, I have to give you some context about the original song by The Band Perry, "If I Die Young." I was OBSESSED with this song at the tender age of sixteen. I was morbid, romantic, and dramatic, as teenagers often are, and the lyrics in "If I Die Young" spoke to my adolescent soul. When I say I was obsessed, I mean it. At one point, I journeyed to a local cemetery, photographed moss-covered headstones, and combined the lyrics and pictures into art for my senior art class project. I went searching for that artwork the other day and couldn't find it, but I sure wish I had kept it, if for no other reason, than to show the teens I see in therapy now that I do *understand* what it's like to think about deep and morbid things at a young age.
When I saw Kimberly Perry had released a part two to her band's most famous song, I leapt onto Spotify to listen, and I wept. Her words are so powerful, her wisdom is palpable, and her heart has matured. It's what happens to all of us, as we grow up. Or, at least, it's what we hope happens, if we are lucky enough to keep living.
Now that I have held a child in my arms who has died, grieved the loss of three other babies, and worked through the trials that grief can put a person through, I am grateful to have the gift of time. I am happy to say I lived through it, and I am happy to see how my roses turned out, even if the plan for the garden changed from what I originally pictured. Flowers are still beautiful, even if arranged differently.
We recognize that instead of wishing for a romantic and beautiful death surrounded by roses, we should be 'plantin' them roses instead." As she sings, "the sharp knife of a short life, now I know better there's no such thing as enough time." So I ask you, dear readers, what song would you say eclipses your teenage self, and what song represents your growth now? How are you planting your roses now? How are you passing along your name before it's on a headstone?
I hope you find equal parts of romanticism and maturity and peace and contentment as you continue to grow older. I know I have, and I am glad that "I've had time to bloom."
Take exquisite care of yourself,
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